Chuukese have to contend with ugly stigma

Oct. 19, 2011

Written by

Jim Rayphand

A friend of mine told me (recently) that he believes, "at least 50 percent of the Chuukese living in the CNMI (and Guam) are criminals." I imagine the man has had some bad experiences with some bad Chuukese and, frankly, he's not alone, but 50 percent? That's a big number. I then made the mistake of posing the question to a room full of "good fellas" who, almost simultaneously, disagreed, saying that "the number is probably closer to 75 percent."

Truth be told, I wasn't at all surprised. Even worse, I wasn't offended -- no sense of indignation whatsoever. I guess I'm used to it. Disparaging remarks ...